Parents could pay out £239 reward for kids’ good exam results

Joe Pennington

More than four in five parents with children taking exams this year are offering rewards to their offspring such as cash, holidays and gadgets, a survey has found.

83 per cent of parents with children taking exams this year are putting up some sort of incentive for them to do well, according to VoucherCodes.

The average total amount parents expect to spend on rewards for their child’s hard work is £239, with parents saying they plan to reward their children with gifts of cash, days out, money towards the school prom, games consoles, laptops, tablets and money towards a car.

The research also suggests boys sitting their exams can expect to get higher cash payouts this summer than girls.

Parents of boys taking exams have offered their child £126 in cash typically, while parents of girls have put up a cash reward of £98 for good grades.

14 per cent of parents said their child is already trying to negotiate a bigger payout, with many also saying their child is trying to sweeten the deal by improving their behaviour, such as by offering to make them cups of tea.

Young people sitting A-levels are more likely to be rewarded with “bigger ticket” items such as money towards a car or a computer as they prepare to head off to university, the research found.

And on average, parents planning to offer money towards a car expect to make a contribution of £350, while parents offering money towards a laptop or computer plan to spend £286 and those spending on a tablet expect to pay £203.